


They Will Say: “How His Hair is Growing Thin”

by titaniumsporkery



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-11
Updated: 2012-12-11
Packaged: 2017-11-20 21:17:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/589723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/titaniumsporkery/pseuds/titaniumsporkery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU in which Erik kidnaps Charles after the Bay of Pigs crisis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	They Will Say: “How His Hair is Growing Thin”

“You! You did this!” Erik’s stomach burned and his eyes burned and he couldn’t see, but he could feel her, radiating human stupidity and cruelty and weakness, and it was clear. She had to die. Metal dog tags, it was an invitation, really. He willed the chain to tighten around her neck.

She looked to Charles. How dare she look to him when she—he tightened the chain further. Charles struggled to sit up.

“Please! She didn’t do this, Erik. You did,” he begged, but Erik barely heard, pushed it out, pulled the chain tighter.

“Us turning on each other. It’s what they want. I tried to warn you, Charles. I want you by my side. We’re brothers, you and I. All of us, together. Protecting each other. We want the same thing.”

Moira fell to the ground.

“No, Erik, we don’t.”

Charles didn’t understand. He was hurt. He was delirious. Erik would fix it.

*

Charles had been kidnapped. There was no other way of putting it.

He wasn’t tied up, there was that, but even if he was tied up it wouldn’t change anything. He couldn’t walk. Erik had pulled the bullet out but Charles’ spine was totally shattered. He could drag himself out with his (spindly, weak academic’s) arms if he really wanted to, the door was only about 20 feet away, but he didn’t even know where he was. The only two people in the area with him were Erik (who persisted in wearing that infuriating tin hat of his) and the other psychic.

On top of all of this, for the first time in his life, Charles didn’t understand what was going on. Erik … seemed to feel like he was protecting him. He brought him food, made him comfortable, talked to him for hours (talked over, a lot of the time. Erik refused to listen to Charles’ constant objections to having been kidnapped, his fury at the fact that Erik had killed Moira over something that was his fault—and it was his fault, Charles didn’t sugarcoat that even in his head. Charles would never have use of his legs again and it was Erik’s fault. He forgave him, forgave him instantly, but he was furious that Erik would not own that.) Erik was just losing his mind, and he wouldn’t let Charles help him.

Sometimes Erik would sit at Charles’ bedside and just stroke his hair. Neither of them would speak, and Charles would look into Erik’s eyes and see sadness and longing, and wish he could reach into his mind like he used to be able to and understand what was happening to his best friend.

But he couldn’t; his reflection in Erik’s helmet seemed to mock him.

On nights like those, Charles would feign sleep and count the seconds until Erik left.


End file.
